We Who Are Left Behind
by TwiCanonFodder
Summary: Human love isn’t magic or eternal, but it’s still a wondrous thing. Charlie and Sue had to watch as their children became a part of the immortal world. After all the pain, what is left for them now that they have been left behind? A very human love story.


**Twilight Canon Fodder Challenge**

**Title**: We Who Are Left Behind

**Contest Category **: Vet

**Characters/Pairing:** Sue / Charlie

**Rating**: T

**Canon Type** (Book/Movie): Book

**Disclaimer**: Stephenie Meyer owns the Twilight Saga and all its characters and action figures. I just like playing with them.

**Summary**: Human love isn't magic or eternal, but it's still a wondrous thing. Charlie and Sue had to watch as their children became a part of the immortal world. After all the pain, what is left for them now that they have been left behind? A very human love story.

**To see other entries in the Canon Fodder Challenge, please visit the C2 page:**

**http://www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/community/Canon_Fodder_Challenge/79719/

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She heard the wind rustle the trees before it pulled at the curtains and stirred the air in her home. She looked up to the source of the breeze, and tried to take strength again from the wind. They were kindred spirits, she and the wind. Both were constantly shifting without a true direction or destination. Outside, rare rays of sun turned the dark forest into a dazzling array of too-bright greens and browns that danced magically in the dappled light.

She had always loved days like this, where the sun provided the pallet of the forest with rarely seen intensity. When she was younger, she would have run out to capture as much of the light as she could.

Today, little remained of that happy, young woman. Today, the memory of past happiness mocked her and caused her heart to ache with each beat. She tried to calm herself by reminding herself of the joy today should bring. She took several deep breaths, and allowed the scent of her home to pull her to a peaceful place.

The house was filled with the smell of herbs, stewed venison and frybread. She let the aroma fill her lungs and warm her heart. There was something utterly right about preparing dinner for her children. These smells were normal, homey and so very human. She closed her eyes, and inhaled the scents of her past – of comfort and love, and all that was once normal. Here in her kitchen, she could forget for a moment that grasping the simplicity of humanity was a losing battle.

She was pulled from the reverie with the sudden sound of the door being wrenched open and then slammed shut. Quick footsteps told her it was Leah, but she kept her eyes on the food until the bedroom door slammed and Leah called out her normal all-clear. "'Kay, dogbreath!"

Seth immediately padded into the house, still wolf-like in human form, and went to his own bedroom.

She kept her eyes on her hands as she flipped the bread. The worn wedding band hung limply on her thin finger now -- just one of the physical signs of what the last six months had cost her. The breeze from open window was soft as it brushed at her hair and carried with it the smell of pine trees and sun on the damp soil. The good smells of the earth mixed with those of her dinner, and she was again lost in the fleeting feeling of comforting humanity.

The long howl of a wolf drifted on the wind outside her home. Its melodious call was a harsh reminder that her world was no longer comforting or human. She absently rubbed at the pain in her chest as she cursed under her breath. She cursed for her loss, for her daughter who must live naked among the wolves and for her son who was made into a warrior before he had made it to manhood.

She grieved again for her daughter's pain. Leah was not born for this life, and of all that she had lost, of all that she had endured in the last six months, Leah's loss was the most heartbreaking.

"Smells good," Leah announced as she stormed into the kitchen, grabbing the leftover juice and draining it.

"Dork!" Seth punched her arm playfully and went over to the fridge to forage for whatever he could find.

"Dinner is almost ready. Don't over-do it," Sue said as he grabbed the rest of the hot dogs.

"S'not possible," Seth said, already chewing. He grinned mischievously, hot dog pieces clinging to his teeth.

She tried to hide the worried look that constantly wrinkled her brow, but it was becoming harder. Her children's ravenous appetites were costing her more than she could afford.

"So, have I mentioned today that Jacob is an idiot?" Leah was leaning on the counter, popping crackers into her mouth.

"You always say he's an idiot, and, yes, I think you did mention again yesterday. You haven't been here today," Sue said quietly.

She looked at her daughter and tried again not to grimace. Leah was wearing old jeans and a ratty t-shirt that clearly showed her lack of a bra. She understood the reason – clothes shredded easily, and bras became projectiles when Leah phased – but still, it wasn't something she liked to see. This was not the future she had envisioned for her daughter.

"Hey, Mom, you should get Esme's recipe for sticky buns," said Seth. He rolled his eyes and put his hand over his stomach in mock digestive bliss.

Sue swallowed the bile that rose at the name of her born enemy, and absently rubbed her hand over her heart – a useless attempt to ease the permanent, painful tightness there.

Leah hissed, "Idiot," and swatted her brother, easily reaching across the microscopic kitchen to smack his head.

"What?" Seth stared at his sister and then his mother, totally oblivious to the offense he had committed.

Leah grabbed three plates and shoved them in his stomach with a growl. Seth walked away bewildered, as Leah and Sue shared a knowing look behind his back. Just like his father, Seth was always quick to accept hardship and forgive wrongs. It was easy for him to forgive the Cold Ones. He liked being a wolf.

Within minutes, Sue had the wobbly table filled with food and the kids were back to their ceaseless banter. Again, it was almost like old times. Last year, they had barely fit with four of them. Now, dwarfed by her mammoth children, Sue was happily smothered as their elbows knocked against each other.

It wasn't until Seth loaded the last of the brownies into his mouth that Leah returned to Jacob's idiocy.

"So guess what Jacob's thinking about doing," Leah taunted her mother. She had obviously kept the subject at the forefront of her mind, waiting for just the right moment to savor the tale.

Seth snorted, sending liquid chunks of brownie across the kitchen. Sue and Leah both hit him.

"Okay, I give. What'd he decide to do?" Sue asked as she wiped the brownie off her arm.

"Jake wants to tell Charlie about everything. He says that they'll leave unless Charlie knows. He's going to phase in front of him," Leah was almost shaking with excitement.

Seth began to guffaw at the thought of it, and too late put his large hands over his mouth to hide the brown dribble that washed over his chin.

"What?" Sue sat frozen in both disbelief and rage. Jacob was willing to betray his tribe for that spawn of hell on which he'd imprinted. The natural leader of her people had decided to turn his back on his heritage and reveal the deepest secret of the pack. And her children were happy about it.

The rage overwhelmed her disbelief, and she stood with such force as to turn over the chair and disrupt the table. Her children caught the dishes before they hit the floor.

"How dare you laugh at this!" Her voice was a violent roar. "How could he even think of doing something so stupid? How could he betray us?"

Yet even as the words left her mouth, she realized that it wasn't her people she was concerned with. It was the face of the gentle, quiet man who had brought her the only solace she had found in the last six months that filled her mind. What would Charlie think? What would become of him? He would now be doubly condemned for knowing too much of the mystical world that had destroyed hers. Once he knew, would he hate her for keeping the secret?

"What about Charlie?" she asked in a whisper, unaware that she had spoken out loud.

"Jake isn't worried about Charlie," snapped Leah. "His only concern is that creature."

"Her name is Nessie," said Seth angrily.

"Her name is as freaky as she is," Leah snapped back. "And I don't care whose kid she is, she should have never been born!" She was yelling at her brother now. "She has brought nothing but trouble. You even got attacked and your arm broken because of her."

"What?"

Seth grimaced and turned to his mom. "Sorry. I should have told you, but it healed really fast. It was nothing." His mother glared at him, and crossed her arms. He knew that look. "Really mom, it was an accident. Jake made Bella mad, and she went after him. I just got in her way, that's all. No harm done."

"You were attacked by a vampire, and you think it's no big deal?" Sue shrieked at him.

"It was Bella, Mom," he said miserably.

Bella. Sue felt her rage leave and her body deflate. She walked into the kitchen and leaned heavily on the counter.

"It was Bella," she whispered. Charlie's daughter. She wondered how much of Bella was left in the harsh, crystal body.

For Charlie's sake, she had tried not to hate the frail human who had chosen to become one her people's enemies. She had tried, and failed. Bella had chosen. Her children, her people, didn't have a choice. It was because of the Cullens that Leah's life had been destroyed while Sue stood helplessly by. Leah had lost Sam, lost her father, lost her future family, and lost her humanity all because of the Cold Ones. It would be a long time before she could forgive Bella.

A part of her wished Sam had been able to kill the girl while she was still human. A part of her knew what it would do to Charlie. A part of her wondered if Bella was just as much a victim of forces beyond her control as her children were.

"Are you angry that Charlie might know about us?" Leah asked. Sue looked into her sad eyes and felt shame. Tonight was supposed to be a happy night.

"No. I'm worried about him, that's all."

"He means a lot to you, doesn't he?" Leah suddenly looked lost, like a little girl.

"He is a good friend. Our world," Sue paused, feeling the pain of that world again, "our world is dangerous and hard to get used to. I just want him to be okay with it."

She looked at Leah for a moment, hoping that somehow the girl could understand the torn feelings of the woman. Charlie had been there for her. Charlie was the one thing she could always depend on.

"Jake's right; Charlie should know about Bella," Seth argued. He always stood up for Jake, especially when it came to the Cold Ones. "You should call him and have him come to dinner tomorrow night after he sees Bella. That way you can see for yourself that he's okay with all the weirdness."

"I don't know if I should," Sue began. "Once he knows about us, he might not want to come here any more.

"Phbbt!" Seth's raspberry showered her with spit. "He's Bella's dad, he won't care. They're both really good with weird stuff. We'll invite Billy, too. That'll make it cool, right?"

"Sure, we'll have a freaked out cop, two wolves and an angry elder at our table. What could go wrong with --" but she never finished. She could hear Leah's loud voice coming from the kitchen asking Charlie over for a fish fry.

It went against everything she had learned in the last few years to batter and fry the fish that Charlie supplied. Ever since her husband's heart had gone bad, she had banned all fried food from the house. Normally, the fish was broiled or poached, and her kids hated that. Charlie's constant gift of fish was a blessing for her and a constant source of irritation for her children. They preferred Hamburger Helper.

She tried to keep her hands from shaking and her eyes from looking to the road outside, but she failed miserably. The sun again turned the forest into a brilliant mélange of greens and yellows, but its beauty hadn't soothed her soul today. Today her best friend had learned her darkest secret, and she was about to find out what that meant for her. Tonight's meal would be very different from the others she had cooked, and not just because of the cholesterol.

"He's fine, mom," Leah groaned again. She took the breaded fish from Sue and began dipping them into the hot oil. "You really shouldn't be near heat." Sue's trembling hands dropped the slick paring knife on the floor, and Leah snorted. "Or sharp objects, apparently."

Sue washed the fish off her hands before rubbing her aching chest. She then busied herself with the salad. No matter how many times Leah had told her that the day went well, her stomach would not stop churning as she thought of Charlie spending the day with the Cold Ones. She wasn't sure which was worse, the fact that Charlie knew their secrets or that he would now choose to befriend her enemy because of his daughter.

"They're coming," Leah said quietly from the stove. "And this is too much green," she added when she pulled the lid off the steamed broccoli,"way too much green." Sue ignored her as usual.

Soon, the sound of tires on gravel drifted in the window with the breeze. Sue tried to keep her heart from pounding as she finished the salad and got the wheat rolls out of the oven.

Seth burst through the door and kissed her. "He's fine," he said firmly. "Hungry, but fine. It went really well. They both need beers, though." He grabbed two beers from the fridge and headed back out to help with Billy.

She heard the men enter her house with their usual testosterone-driven banter. She had always greeted Charlie at the door, but she couldn't bring herself to face him yet. "Dinner's about ready. Make yourselves at home. Seth, come here," she called from the kitchen.

Seth shot his sister a bewildered look when Sue simply handed him the salad. She had always greeted her guests herself. He tentatively put his arm around his mother and whispered in her ear. "He's more than fine, really. Remember how worked up he's been the last two weeks? Well, he got to stay all day with Bella, and he's happy." Seth removed his arm from Sue's stiff shoulder and moved in front of her, bending down to look her in the eye. "You okay?" Her reaction was not at all what they expected.

He looked over at his sister, who stood oddly stiff as she watched her mother.

"It was kinda funny, mom. You would have loved it," Leah began slowly. She tried to keep her mouth from smiling as she remembered the confrontation. "Jake pulled Charlie out into the back yard, and then just dropped his pants in front of God and everybody." Her mouth twitched into the smile she'd been suppressing. "Charlie covered his eyes and started swearing at him and almost ran back into the house. Jake grabbed him and, bam, phased right there. Charlie didn't yell or run, he just stood there like a statue. Jake had to do it like two or three times 'cause he wasn't sure Charlie got it."

"I thought he was gonna barf!" laughed Seth. "That or piss his pants. He looked green and then turned really red. Jake was afraid he was in shock, so he phased back, pulled on his pants, and took him back inside. He had to lead him by the hand, 'cause Charlie couldn't even move. It was great!"

Sue fought back a wave of nausea as her stomach twisted. "So Charlie knows everything?"

"Nope. Charlie said he only wanted to see Bella if Jake wouldn't tell him everything. He went through the whole day without asking any questions."

"He did? He just accepted us?" A small flutter of hope pushed against the pain in her chest. If Charlie knew, if he was willing to accept it, then perhaps they would be able to remain friends. She needed Charlie's friendship.

"I guess so," shrugged Leah, who was looking intently at her mother. "He was still at the Cullens when I came home. He looked okay, and he held the mutant a lot."

"Nessie," snarled Seth.

Sue left them to argue over the name of the abomination and walked slowly into the living room.

Charlie was sitting, chatting easily with Billy about the influx of tourist fishermen. If she hadn't been told about the events of the day, Sue would have thought everything was just as it had been. Except that there was a haunted look to Charlie's eyes.

Charlie watched Sue timidly enter the room. He was immediately worried about her because she rarely did anything with trepidation. Sue didn't scare easily, and he wondered what it was that she feared.

She looked at him for a moment before asking, "You guys okay?" It could have meant anything, but he understood immediately what she meant. Her fear was for him.

"I'm great," he said with a shrug. He was, for the most part. He was overwhelmed and almost numb from all that he had learned and seen today, but that was to be expected from a man who started his morning with a naked guy changing into a wolf in his backyard.

"We're fine, Sue," said Billy with a wink. Sue felt as if a weight had lifted from her shoulders. She smiled and finally took a breath.

"I hope you're hungry," chortled Seth as he twisted around her carrying a heavy platter of cholesterol. The table moaned under the load of fish. Leah sat the rolls and green stuff beside it.

Both men whooped their approval of the steaming mound.

"You outdid yourself, Sue," said Billy happily as he grabbed a plate and began loading it. They weren't even going to try to sit around the small table tonight.

The talk that evening was warm and friendly. Billy spent the first part of the night talking of the old legends. Billy's relief at finally sharing his heritage with his friend was evident in every word he spoke, and he grew more animated with each tale.

"And you thought I was just a crazy old man telling crazy old stories," he laughed when he had told the last of the old legends.

"I never said the stories were crazy, just the man who was telling them," Charlie said. "And so these legends are why your son dropped his pants in my backyard this morning?"

"No, he did that out of stupidity," said Billy with a grimace. "Jake is the alpha, and he had the right to tell you, so he did. If it had been me, I would have kept my pants on."

"Believe me, if it had been you, I'd have shot ya," Charlie promised.

"So you ready to hear the rest?" Billy's eyes were bright.

"No, but that's never stopped you before."

Charlie listened intently, putting his hand up when Billy had crossed the threshold of what Charlie could endure. With each passing piece of information, though, he became more uncomfortable. Billy was describing a world that shouldn't exist, one full of danger and evil, and his daughter was now a part of it. He never spoke, and he never asked a question except for once.

Billy spoke of the tribe's enemies, the Cold Ones, and he said they were pure evil, demons from hell. Everything in Charlie rose to defend his daughter and her family. Billy was wrong about them, and Charlie was tired of the hatred that flowed from Billy when he spoke of the Cullens. He stood and looked down at his old friend, pointing his finger in his face. "Let's get one thing straight right now Billy Black. The Cullens aren't evil, and my Bella is no demon." He stood glaring at the Quileute elder until Billy nodded. The icy silence that followed was hard to bear. When Billy finally continued, he spoke only of the younger wolves and their antics.

Sue listened half-heartedly. Instead, she watched Charlie, looking for signs that he really wasn't taking this as well as he appeared to be. The only evidence that anything was wrong was that the strange, haunted look deepened as Billy spoke.

Charlie left with Billy before dark. To all appearances, he was indeed handling the situation well, but Sue didn't like his silence or the look in his eyes, and she frowned in concern as they pulled out of her driveway.

"See, he's fine," Leah said with a smile as she unloaded the remnants of food from the table.

"I don't think he is," Sue said quietly. She felt the need to be with him, to see him again without all the others around, to know that he was indeed alright. Something in his eyes told her that, despite his easy acceptance, he was far from fine, and Sue needed Charlie to be more than fine.

Leah looked away, and stared at a crack in the wall for a moment. She swallowed hard, her face twisting as if the thing she swallowed was bitter.

"I think you should go over there. I think you should check on Charlie, you know, just to be sure he's alright," she said, still not looking at her mother.

"No," Sue said firmly. "We haven't been together as a family in a long time. I've missed you two too much to go anywhere."

She walked over to her daughter, and put her arms around her. Leah hugged her back, dipping her head to smell her mother's hair. They held each other longer than they had in months, but when Leah let go, she did so with force.

"No, Mom, you need to be with Charlie. We'll be fine until you get back. Seth's already crashed on Dad's chair; I can hear him snoring."

"Leah, you are my children and – "

"And we are wolves. We'll be fine, Mom. Charlie might not be. Go. We'll be here when you get back." Leah's smile was reassuring, if not happy.

Outside, the chimes Harry had made her rang through the stillness of the evening. "See Mom, even the wind wants you to go."

Sue looked to where her keys hung, torn between being a mother, and needing to be there for the man who was her best friend.

"Go, already," Leah said, exasperation coloring her words. She rolled her eyes at her mother and walked into the living room. The sofa moaned under her weight.

Without thinking any more about it, Sue grabbed her keys, stole a kiss from her sleeping son who overflowed Harry's large chair, touched the top of Leah's head and headed to the truck.

The key to Charlie's house was where she remembered, and she quickly let herself into the dark home. The weak light was almost gone, but it had been sunny this evening, and she could see well enough to maneuver to the living room. She flicked on the light, and her eyes focused on the myriad of pictures on the mantle.

The first few were of Charlie and Renee, followed by mostly generic school pictures of Bella that were broken up only rarely by a picture of her with her father.

It was a dusty memorial to a lonely life.

They had grown up together – all of them. Charlie had always been dazzled by Renee, the shy one perpetually crushing on the popular one. Renee had been fun to watch from a distance, but difficult to get along with when you got too close. She was always trying to find new things to keep her occupied, and she went through friends with the same abandon as she went through fads.

Sue shook her head as she wondered for the millionth time what they had seen in each other. Everyone who knew them understood that the marriage was doomed from the start. The only one oblivious to it was Charlie, and he was so blinded by his love that he didn't see it crumbling until the day Renee walked out on him.

The rest of his friends did what they could to help him, but something in Charlie had died that day. After Harry's death, she finally understood what it was.

Her hands found the single, thin photo album that lay at the end of the mantle, and she began to look through the few pages that contained old photos. Almost all of them were from friends, given to Charlie rather than taken by him. For a man who served so selflessly, he had no real life. He had locked himself tightly away from the company of others, shutting himself off from everyone. He was with others, but never allowed himself to become a part of them.

Several pictures fell from the back of the album. These were from the last year. Two were of Bella and the vampire at a dance. The rest were from the wedding.

The difference between Charlie in these pictures and those of the past was remarkable. He looked alive in the more recent photos. His eyes gleamed, and the slight smile on his face looked real -- and annoyed. It was as if he began living again when Bella arrived. At least she could be thankful to the girl for that.

The last picture caused Sue to pull her breath in through her teeth. Charlie and Renee were standing together, with the vampires, and they looked happy. They were not in love, but they were happy. Charlie had found his peace at last.

And now that peace had been shredded by the reality of the terrifying monsters around him. She realized sadly that she was as much a part of that terrifying world as the Cold Ones were. Charlie might not want a member of that dangerous new world here right now.

She replaced the album and turned from the pictures to leave the home, but she froze as she passed the long, thin sticks that lay against the wall behind Charlie's chair. Her hand ran over the smooth surface of the fishing rods. They were too large to fit in the coffin, so she had given them to Charlie. Harry's fishing rods brought back a fresh wave of loss and painful memories that she had tried to keep at bay. Her husband's face flooded her mind, smiling and relaxed as he grabbed his fishing gear, loving and quiet as he taught his children the art of lure making, fierce and angry as he told her of Sam's imprinting and Seth's inescapable future, and finally utterly still in death.

Her memories were abruptly interrupted by the sound of the door opening. Startled, she went from the face of her husband to the wide eyes of Charlie.

"Sue?" he asked, utterly bewildered at seeing her here. "What's wrong? Why are you here?"

She wanted to answer him, but she wasn't sure of the answer to his question. What exactly had brought her here?

Charlie's concern redoubled when he noticed the tears on her cheeks. Sue Clearwater didn't often cry. He was instantly in front of her. He put his hands on her shoulders and looked intently into her face.

"Is it the kids?" His voice was unusually intense as his mind ran in a thousand directions at once.

"I was worried about you," she said simply. "Do you hate us?"

His face took on the pained look of all males who are cornered by a question they don't understand and can't answer. He hated those.

He backed up a little and rubbed the back of his neck. Today had been overwhelming enough, and his befuddled mind could not make sense of her words.

"I don't hate you, Sue. I can never hate you. Why on earth would you say that?"

Sue saw his discomfort, and smiled despite herself. "You aren't angry that I hid the truth from you? You aren't afraid of us because of what we are?"

Charlie laughed a little too hysterically. The sound of it bothered them both.

"Hell, Sue, I don't even know what you are. I don't know anything anymore. The whole world got totally screwed up today. Nothing I've ever believed seems true." He angrily waved at the dark world around them.

Sue winced at his words. It was obvious he was having trouble with the new reality he'd been shoved into. She wasn't the best person to help him through this; she shouldn't have come. She began to walk to the door, rubbing the acutely painful constriction over her heart.

"I would have told you, but it wasn't my secret to share. Only Jacob and Sam had the right. I'm sorry. I'm s-sorry for everything," she tried to say the words strongly, but couldn't get them out without her breath hitching. She had been strong enough to bury a husband. She had been strong enough to raise wolves alone. She had been strong enough to let her children become warriors. But here, she was suddenly not strong enough. She had come for him, yet now she was the one who needed to stay.

Charlie watched as she walked away. Something in her movement looked totally defeated, as if the world was suddenly too much to bear. Guilt flooded him. She didn't deserve his wrath. In fact, she was as much a victim as he was and he had no right to add to her pain. Charlie reached out to gently pull her arm back. "Please don't go, Sue. I'm sorry for that; I had no right to say those things. I'm not angry at you. God, you had to deal with this, too, didn't you?"

Sue stopped, torn between the open door and the man behind her. Charlie made the decision for her, pulling her into one of his rare, brotherly hugs. She collapsed against him, releasing her tension into his warmth.

"I'm sorry, Sue, I shouldn't have taken that out on you," Charlie whispered into her hair. She smelled so good to him, of earth and fire and forest.

"Kind of overwhelming, isn't it?" she asked, a bitter smile twisting at her lips. She pulled away.

"Yeah, kinda." For some unknown reason, Charlie felt strangely shy.

"I was worried about you, Charlie. You never asked any questions. All night, you just listened, but you never asked anything. Don't you want to understand? I can't answer all your questions, but I can tell you a little if you want," she shrugged. She suddenly felt completely comfortable. This strange house took on a sweet familiarity with Charlie in it. Now that he was here, and wasn't angry, this place felt like home.

He shoved his hands in his pocket and looked to the floor. "Do you want to sit? I can grab a couple of beers."

"I'd like that," she said. She should feel awkward, but she didn't. Being with Charlie was as natural as breathing. In fact, being with him made that breathing easier somehow.

He smiled, pleased that she seemed so at ease. He had missed her the last few weeks. He went to the kitchen, grabbed two beers and joined her on the sofa. She shifted, not sure where to begin. Gratefully, he initiated the conversation.

"Um, so, Leah and Seth, are… "

"Wolves," she said firmly. "Like Jacob, only with a lot more sense."

"That wouldn't be hard," he snorted. Charlie rubbed the back of his neck again wishing he could remove the image of Jacob pulling down his pants and turning himself inside-out. "Wolves, right. Was Harry one?" He hoped not. All those hours fishing and not one hint that Harry led some kind of super hero's double life. Some kind of cop he was.

"He would have been, but the Cullens didn't come when he was young. Only our young ones become wolves," she said as her stomach constricted with a potent mix of pride in her children and anger at a world that forced them into the other form.

"So the Cullens…" He stopped, unsure of how to put it.

"Started it. This is all their fault," she said hotly. "They aren't human, and that's all I can say. Our people shift into the other form to protect ourselves from their kind." A look of pain settled into Charlie's features, and Sue immediately regretted her words. She took a deep breath. "The Cullens are kind and loving to their family. They love Bella very much." Her mouth twisted into a grimace, but her chest loosened. Seth said they were wonderful "people," and though the thought was ridiculous to her, she had to admit they loved their family. Sue could understand that love.

Charlie tried to process her words against what he had seen today. His daughter was there, but so very different. In fact, it wasn't until he saw her mannerisms and smile that he had even been sure the ethereal beauty sitting with Edward was indeed Bella. What had happened?

"So Bella is one of them? And they really did that to save her life?" He tried to get his head around the only explanation he had been given.

"Yes."

"And that's all I need to know?" Charlie was suddenly angry again. Bella, Billy, Jake, all of them had lied to him. He threw his empty beer can at the wall and jumped up from the sofa. "I'm her father! Damn it! I have a right to know what happened to my baby," he yelled to Sue and the house and the universe all at once. "What's so dangerous that they couldn't tell me what was happening to Bella? She's my daughter, my little girl, and I was supposed to protect her. She was mine!" His last words were a howl of frustration and anger. He looked at Sue's sad eyes and saw his pain mirrored there. As quickly as it came, his rage was spent, and he sat down heavily beside her with his head in his hands, exhausted from the events of this horrible, wonderful day. "I'm her daddy," he whispered.

Sue listened with a compassion borne of similar pain. When she watched Leah, her beautiful Leah, twist into the form of a massive wolf, she had felt the same way. Bella was his daughter, his little girl. Her anger at the Cold Ones faded slightly. She was his daughter, and he was her friend. She placed her hand lightly over his.

"It is hard to watch them go where we cannot follow and become what we cannot be. They are on a different path now, and we are left behind," she said quietly. A light breeze gently brushed her cheek and lifted her spirit. The wind gave her the strength to try and help calm him. "Is Bella very different?"

"She is beautiful." He smiled at the memory. "I thought I had lost her, but there she was, so different and so much the same. She does seem more, um, sturdy now."

"She is definitely that," Sue laughed. He had no idea.

"This was to save her life?" Charlie asked the question with a broken voice. For some reason, of all he had seen and not understood today, that fact was important.

"Yes," Sue said after a pause. Had they? Had she traded an immortal soul for an unchanging body? She wondered what the word "life" meant for a Cold One.

"She is so happy, Sue. I wish you could have seen her sitting there. Edward and she are so much in love, and the Cullens love her and the baby. The baby, Sue the baby is incredible! There is something so wonderful about that child. And do you know what? They called me grandpa. I'm a grandpa," he laughed freely and sat back again, his hand twisting under hers so that their fingers intertwined. "Why couldn't she tell me?"

She felt his fingers lock with hers, and instinctively grasped his hand. It was perfect. Neither cold nor hot like her children's, but perfect in temperature and texture. It's subtle warmth drifted up her arm and into her heart.

She looked at him, and for a moment remembered the fragile girl who had caused so much heartbreak and conflict. He loved Bella completely, and Sue could no longer hate her fully. "Someday when the danger is passed, I will tell you everything."

"Promise?" His fingers tightened slightly. Her promise meant more to him than he realized.

"Cross my heart -- poke out your eye," she laughed, remembering the old saying from innocent days gone by.

They sat in silence for a moment, each lost in the memories of recent years. Sue felt the night air swirling around her, and, finally giving up her anger to the night wind, reached out to her friend.

"Charlie, if Bella had been badly injured in an accident, would you still love her?"

"That's a stupid question. Of course I would."

"And if she had died somehow, would you want her back?"

"Yes. Why are you asking me this?"

"Just answer me. If she had died, and you got her back but she was changed and broken, would you still love her?" He nodded, looking confused. "If that is what happened, and she became what she is now, would you be happy?" She looked to the floor, averting her gaze so that he could not see how grudgingly she said this. It was a truth she loathed admitting.

"Of course I would. She's so happy now. She's so loved and so much in love. Why wouldn't I want that for her?"

"Then you already know everything you need to," she said, finally looking at him. His eyes were wide, shocked.

Charlie wanted to say something as the pieces to the puzzle moved into place, but he couldn't. His worst fears and his greatest dream had come true all at once, and he hadn't even known it. He laid his head back against the sofa and looked at the ceiling as he tried to process the magnitude of what she said. Then another truth occurred to him, and he looked pointedly at Sue.

"You did all this by yourself, didn't you? You had to watch them change without him," he was looking at her intently. She had done it alone, and he was amazed again at her strength.

She said nothing, because she didn't know how to put six months of misery into words.

"You've lost a lot of weight," he finally said.

"Thank you, I think," she said with a jab at his ribs.

"You look good! You really do," he laughed and put his hands up for protection.

"You could use some healthy food yourself," she said with one final poke at his side.

"I like food, just not the healthy kind," Charlie reminded her. She had become the master of healthy cooking when Harry's heart had gone bad. He always admired how hard she worked to keep her husband alive. She loved others with a steadfast fierceness that amazed him.

She rolled her eyes. "Fish fry?"

"Anything fried, or a thick steak or greasy burgers," he grinned. "That reminds me, can you use some more fish? My freezer's getting full."

"Sure, but my kids are gonna kill me," she laughed

"So don't cook it for them," he snickered. "It can be our treat."

"Shall I cook it here?" she asked. She was surprised at the question that seemed to come from somewhere outside of her. It was too bold, but she needed to know that he was eating and healthy. She needed to know that he was all right. Something within her had claimed him as her own.

Charlie looked at her, not quite believing what she had asked.

"You want to cook for me? Here?"

Sue shrugged. "You obviously do a horrible job of it yourself."

He rubbed his neck. She was right about that; he hated cooking.

"I don't know when I'll be here," he admitted. "I was planning to go back to see Bella and Nessie tomorrow."

Sue cracked a smile. There was so much sweet revenge in that nickname.

"Why don't you come with me?"

Sue's heart about stopped. "What?" How could she go to the home of her enemy?

"Come with me and see Bella and meet my grand baby," he said with a proud smile. "It's not like we'd be alone," he continued, confused by her utter silence. "Seth'll be there and Jake and maybe Leah. Besides, the Cullens would love to meet you."

She felt the hysterical giggle escape before she could stop it. Meeting the Cullens was not something she had ever planned on doing. Still, he wanted her to be a part of his family and they were his family, sort of. More importantly, he wanted her there, with him, and if she went, she could make sure all those she loved were safe.

"Okay," she said slowly. "Yeah, okay, I'll go. We can have dinner here afterwards, right?"

Charlie's smile was uninhibited. "Sure! We could even go into town and eat at the diner if you'd like. The guys there would love to meet you too."

Sue's face grew hot. He wanted her to be a part of his life in every way. This was new. She felt as if she was a girl again, as if the world was young and filled with possibilities. It had been a long time since she had felt so happy. The night breeze blew harder, bringing with it the sweet smell of the forest.

Charlie panicked again when he saw her face and what he assumed was her discomfort. Only then did he then realized what he had unconsciously assumed, and his own face pulsed red. "I didn't, I mean I don't... I mean that I don't want you to think that I was, you know, um... Look, if this is too fast, you don't have to go tomorrow. We can wait and take it slow," he stammered.

"No, it's good," said Sue to herself, as she rubbed her hand over her beating heart. It's steady beat was were no longer painful. She looked at Charlie. "I would like to go with you tomorrow."

He smiled. "Then it's settled. I'll pick you up in the morning."

"I'll be ready," she said as a flutter of anticipation tickled her stomach. It had been a long time since she had looked forward to something.

The night wind rattled the fishing rods. It sounded like applause. Now it was Sue's turn to smile. "I can't believe you did that, Charlie."

"What?" He ran through the list of his possible mistakes, which by now was pretty long.

"You forgot about it. You never forget things."

Charlie looked around, trying to figure out what she meant and why it made her so happy.

Sue's grin widened. This was so unlike him, so unusual that she wanted to laugh. He was always so very careful, so unbelievably closed to others. As the cool night breeze brushed her cheek and whispered in her ear, she told him. "You left your door wide open."


End file.
